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“Mom, this is Matt,” Jessica introduced.
“Hello, Matt. Welcome to our home. I’m the mom, but you can call me Margaret,” she said and shook his hand. They were let inside and into the living room. Jessica looked around for her dad but not having seen him, she asked her mother where he was.
“Oh, he just went into his room, he’ll be here,” her mom said quickly. Just then, her dad walked into the room, and Matt got up to introduce himself. They shook hands and then sat. Before the situation could get uncomfortable, her mom suggested they all get to the dinner table, where she had cooked them a wonderful home-cooked meal. Dinner was laid out on the table, and Matt helped Jessica into a chair. Margaret served them all some food. Upon tasting the first bite, Matt said, “This soup is really good.”
“Thank you, dear. It’s a recipe passed down in our family. Please, try some more,” said Margaret, trying to pour more soup into Matt’s bowl, who was trying to politely decline it.
“So, Matt,” Jessica’s father said, “Why don’t you tell us more about how you and Jessica met andfell in love,” he said the last part with deliberate emphasis.
“We met at my casino, where I saw her gamble like I’ve never seen another woman before, so I stepped in, and before I knew it, I was ready to marry her,” Matt said with confidence. He wasn’t one to be intimated by anyone.
“That is so romantic! It sounds like a movie, where a young girl falls in love with a handsome rich man and they get married and drive into the night!” her mom said with a dreamy expression while squeezing Jessica’s hand as if she expected Jessica to swoon and squeal. “What a catch honey,” she not too silently whispered to her and winked.
All Jessica managed to say was a sharp whispered “Mom!” with a glare. Her mom was being so excessively sweet towards Matt and so over the top about expressing her delight at Jessica’s marriage to a ‘rich man’ that it was embarrassing. Jessica knew her mom would be like this.
“Do young kids these days marry after only knowing a person for a day? Things sure were different back in my days,” her father said and went back to his soup, his disapproval clearly showing on his face as much as his words.
“Dad, please-” Jessica started, but Matt interrupted her.
“I do not know how things were back in your days, or how they should be now, but I did know before marrying Jessica that she was the one. I don’t need years of getting to know your daughter that I wanted to marry her. I realized that in just one night when she played poker with me. I have never been so sure of anything else in my life, so say what you will, Sir, but she is my wife now, and we are perfectly happy,” Matt finished with a hint of finality in his voice that suggested he was done being picked on about his marriage. Everyone around the table was silent, each person wearing a different expression. Jessica’s mom looked at him with an unconcealed look of amazement and delight for her daughter. Her dad seemed to be looking at Matt with a new kind of respect even though he didn’t make it obvious, but Jessica knew her father and knew the meaning behind that look. Matt had won over some part of him with his intentions regarding his daughter, and her dad approved of that. Jessica was looking at him like nothing else mattered in the world. At that moment, she was feeling a million things in her heart, all of them letting her affection for him grow.
Dinner went a little less uncomfortable after that, almost smoothly. Of course, Jessica was constantly on the lookout for more of her father’s disapproval, but he seemed to contain those feelings to himself for the rest of the night. Matt talked about his business and touched a little on how many different things his family owned. When it was revealed that he is also part owner of the hospital Jessica used to work at, her mom again let out a squeal. “Oh my god! This is fate wouldn’t you say?” Jessica rolled her eyes and let out a small chuckle. Her mom was embarrassing, but she was only just wishing the best for her daughter. After dessert, Matt and Jessica took their leave. Just as they got into the elevator, Jessica said, “I’m sorry you had to go through my dad’s inquisitions. He’s only worried about me making a hasty decision.”
“No, please, don’t be sorry. He’s doing what every other father should do, which is looking out for his precious daughter,” Matt reassured her. Jessica smiled up at him, feeling in her heart that she also had made the correct decision in marrying him, even though the circumstances of their wedding were unusual. She liked him even more now, and every day her feelings for him grew.
38
Matt was in his office after being done with a meeting the next morning when his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but since they were calling him on his personal phone, they must be someone he knew closely. Anyone else would have called his office phone and would have had to get through his secretary. He picked up and spoke, “Hello.”
“Matt,” the voice on the other end said. Matt’s mood turned sour just like that.
“Spencer. What the hell do you think you’re doing, calling me on my phone?” Matt said, feeling pissed.
“Look, Matt, can we leave everything behind? Look, man, I’m sorry about the other day, but I’ve been going out of my mind. I owe so much money to so many people, and now, they’re all after me. I literally don’t know how to pay them back.” Spencer sounded annoyed and impatient, and it was clear that his sorry meant nothing. He was only doing what he needed to do to get his way, and this made Matt even more pissed.
“So, what do you want from me?” he asked.
“I need some money to hold back the Coretti brothers. You know how persistent they can be, so when can we meet up to make the exchange?” How dare that Spencer have the audacity to call him and ask for help when just a few days ago he had tried to assault his wife? Who gave him the right to assume that Matt would agree that he’s already asking for a date to meet? Matt was so pissed now that the hand holding his phone was shaking.
“Listen, you washed-up son of a bitch, I am not giving you any money. Whatever trouble you’re in, you brought this upon yourself. Now, before trying to set dates about an exchange, know your place, and don’t call me here again.” He was about to hang up, but Spencer yelled at him to wait. Matt added, “I have nothing to do with you anymore. I married Jessica, and now, she’s mine. You’re no use to me anymore. Whatever your business is, that’s not my problem.”
“You have some nerve! Without me, you wouldn’t even know Jessica existed. Had I known you had the hots for her when we were dating, I would have brought her along so that you could have her for a night or two, out of pity for you,” Spencer said.
“You fucking-” Matt started.
Spencer cut him, “You owe me for Jessica, and don’t forget that you betrayed me when you married the woman I left on the altar not two days ago, or are you forgetting that she was my fiancé first? I don’t mind that you get it on with my leftovers, but I want my payment.”
“Jessica is not an object that I will pay you for her. She was never yours, to begin with, you asshole,” Matt ground out.
“You know, she was, but now that she is your wife, she will be in trouble if you don’t do as I say. If you don’t pay me, I will harm her,” Spencer threatened.
Matt threw back his head and laughed. “If you think you can get even within ten meters from her, you are mistaken. I will not let any harm come to her. I have the power to protect her from the likes of you. Didn’t you get that message the last time you came near her?”
“How are going to protect her if I tell the Coretti brothers about her? Even you can’t stop them when they want something. They will come for her. They might even kill her or worse…” Spencer said. He was extremely desperate at this point. He was suggesting unspeakable things that Matt could not even handle thinking about.
It took him an impossible amount of resolve not to lose control and smash the phone against the wall at what Spencer was suggesting. He could not let him know how a direct threat to Jessica affected him. He tried to sound cool when he said, “She’s my wife. What good would she be to the Coretti brothers? Their beef is with you, not me.”
“But what if I told them she was my fiancé just last week? Maybe I could let a lie slip out that I’m still in love with her. If they get even a hint of someone important to me, they’ll come for her throat.”
